ABN Armo rejects Barclays and RBS offers
by Gill Montia
Story link: ABN Armo rejects Barclays and RBS offers
Barclays’ bid for ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, has been rejected by the board of ABN, which has also turned away a higher competing bid by a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
The Dutch bank had previously been in favour of the Barclays bid, which is mostly in shares, and was worth €63.9 [...]
Lloyds TSB in spotlight on overcharging
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lloyds TSB in spotlight on overcharging
Lloyds TSB has been described as cynical in press reports about some of the methods it has used to avoid refunding unreasonable bank charges to its customers.
The bank, which is alleged to be overcharging customers £300m a year, is reported to have told staff to reject first-time claims, even if they are legitimate.
Details of the [...]
NS&I seeks dormant account holders
by Gill Montia
Story link: NS&I seeks dormant account holders
National Savings and Investments (NS&I), the Treasury backed savings provider, has launched an advertising campaign to help it locate dormant account holders.
NS&I is holding over £435 million in accounts where there has been no customer contact for at least 15 years.
Some of the funds were placed on deposit as far back as 1861 and one [...]
Sharp increase in financial fraud
by Gill Montia
Story link: Sharp increase in financial fraud
CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, has published data showing a sharp rise in financial fraud during the first-half of 2007.
During the first six months of this year, 37,357 cases of application fraud were detected. Application fraud involves submitting application forms with false information, to obtain a credit facility or insurance). The figure represents a [...]
Isas reshape to attract investors
by Gill Montia
Story link: Isas reshape to attract investors
The Investment Management Association (IMA) is urging would-be savers to take a good look at what Isas are available in the market, as a number of changes will be taking place following the introduction of new government regulations, in April 2008.
The economic secretary to the Treasury has announced that Isas, which are to be made [...]
OFT brings test case on overdraft charges
by Gill Montia
Story link: OFT brings test case on overdraft charges
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has forged an agreement with a number of UK banks, including HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Nationwide, to go to court in a test case over overdraft charges.
Thousands of customers have sued their banks for the return of what they consider to be unreasonable fees for [...]
Credit card holders prefer penalty fees
by Gill Montia
Story link: Credit card holders prefer penalty fees
Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website, has published the results of a study that shows credit card holders preferring to pay penalty fees rather than a monthly or annual fee.
Only 12% of respondents to the survey would like penalty fees to be replaced with other charges.
This is surprising because in 2006, 23% of credit card holders [...]
Banks threaten customers reclaiming charges
by Gill Montia
Story link: Banks threaten customers reclaiming charges
This is Money, the financial news website, has reported that thousands of people who have complained about unfair bank charges have been threatened with having their accounts closed.
In a clear breach of industry guidelines, some of Britain’s largest banks are reported to be involved in bullying customers who are challenging the level of their default [...]
Bank of England Governor warns against gradualism
by Gill Montia
Story link: Bank of England Governor warns against gradualism
The deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve, gave a speech earlier this week in which he warned that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) could lose its fight against inflation if it is hesitant in raising interest rates.
The governor spoke of the many uncertainties ahead that had to be considered when policymakers [...]
Savings providers lag behind base rate rises
by Gill Montia
Story link: Savings providers lag behind base rate rises
Latest research from Investec Private Bank shows that interest rates on even some of the most attractive savings accounts have increased by less than the Bank of England base rate.
The bank took the top 11 savings accounts and compared their interest rates in April 2002 with rates being offered today.
Only three of the account [...]
A&L’s pre-paid Visa aids business administration
by Gill Montia
Story link: A&L’s pre-paid Visa aids business administration
Alliance & Leicester has launched a new Visa card which is likely to be of interest to people who run their own businesses.
The card is pre-paid and can therefore be used by employers to provide expenses for staff travelling in their jobs or undertaking purchases on behalf of their employer.
Once it has been loaded [...]
A&L and HSBC attractive to teenagers
by Gill Montia
Story link: A&L and HSBC attractive to teenagers
Two leading banks have recently launched accounts aimed at teenage customers and young people.
Alliance & Leicester is offering its Premier 21 account, paying 10% interest on balances up to £1,000 until July 2008. If the balance exceeds £1,000 the interest rate reverts to just 0.1%.
Premier 21 account holders are also eligible for a Plus [...]
Barclays increases ABN bid and reports 12% profit increase
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays increases ABN bid and reports 12% profit increase
The bidding war for ABN Amro continues with Barclays increasing its offer for the Dutch bank after having secured substantial backing from China Development Bank (CDB) and Temasek.
The new partners, which are owned by the governments of China and Singapore respectively, are buying £2.5 billion worth of new Barclays’ shares and will have an option [...]
Overseas holidaymakers should check credit card fees
by Gill Montia
Story link: Overseas holidaymakers should check credit card fees
The Post Office is advising consumers to check with their bank or credit card provider to ascertain the level of fees charged for using their card abroad.
In its research, the Post Office found that 49% of UK holidaymakers plan to use their credit cards when taking this year’s holiday and the total spend is estimated [...]
Social networkers fall prey to identity thieves
by Gill Montia
Story link: Social networkers fall prey to identity thieves
Equifax, the credit data company, has raised concerns about opportunities being created for identity thieves by those using social networking sites.
Sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook and Friends Reunited are growing in popularity and those joining create profiles to share with other members.
Neil Munroe, external affairs director of Equifax, has warned that fraudsters are making [...]
Barclays goes East to finance ABN bid
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays goes East to finance ABN bid
Barclays is reported to be negotiating agreements with the governments of China and Singapore, aimed at raising approximately £10 billion to help finance its takeover of ABN Amro, the Dutch bank.
If the talks are successful, the money raised could allow Barclays to increase its takeover bid for ABN to around £50 billion.
According to sources [...]
Co-op announces major cuts in CFS staff
by Gill Montia
Story link: Co-op announces major cuts in CFS staff
Co-operative Bank is planning to reduce staff numbers at its financial services division by 1,000, by the end of 2007.
The bank, which runs Smile online, is currently Manchester’s biggest employer and Amicus, the trade union is taking a strong line in demanding that no compulsory redundancies are required in the restructure Co-operative Financial Services (CFS).
The [...]
BBA highlights low UK banking costs
by Gill Montia
Story link: BBA highlights low UK banking costs
In its annual report the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) claims that banking services available to UK customers are cheaper than those in any other developed country.
The association commissioned Oxera, the economic consultancy, to look at 11 countries and not only did the survey find that UK banking costs were lower than those of their overseas [...]
Co-operative bank to shed 1000 jobs
by Brian Turner
Story link: Co-operative bank to shed 1000 jobs
Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) has announced plans to make around 1,000 staff redundant this year as it attempts to cut costs.
No details have been released on where the redundancies will take place, but analysts expect its offices in Manchester to take the brunt of the redundancies.
CFS has around 6.5 million UK customers, though difference brand [...]
Repaid charges could cost HBOS £50m
by Gill Montia
Story link: Repaid charges could cost HBOS £50m
Credit Suisse has published a study in which it estimates that UK banks paid out £200m in the first-half of 2007, to customers reclaiming unfair bank charges.
Account holders have been successful in reclaiming thousands of pounds in penalty charges that have been deemed unfair under consumer contract law because they do not reflect the costs [...]
